Before the eight days of Chanukah begins Tuesday night, I wanted to share a little holiday recipe inspiration that I am super proud of. Not an easy one to replicate without gluten, dairy, and egg. Until now! Don’t you just love that? Me too! I get excited when a recipe overcomes allergen restrictions and it tastes delicious. You know how hard that can be. While most of us know this recipe as kugel or noodle pudding, we knew it as babka.
Butternut Squash Gratin (dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free, vegan friendly)
Hey! Before we talk butternut squash things I wanted to share our Paleo experiment with you. Scroll down to the recipe if you came for the food. 🙂Remember back in September, I mentioned giving the Paleo diet a try? We did. Not die-hard though, more Paleo-ish, since I still used non-dairy cheese and cane sugar a few times a month to satisfy cravings and to keep pissed-off feelings to a minimum. Kidding aside, special needs inspires a very, very special love. I’m blessed to have two older sons’ who fully support our journey towards better health AND who are truly the best siblings and sons’ a Mom could ask for. This journey isn’t easy and their support for Mom’s trials and errors means the world to me.
Nightshade Free Marinara Sauce (gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free, refined sugar free)
To all who have a sensitivity to nightshades and tomato have I got a marinara sauce for you! This has brought on so many new recipes and I’m thrilled to be sharing this with you – oh the possibilities! After many attempts, this sauce is bound to trick your taste buds. Use it for pizza, quesadillas, pasta dishes, lasagna, stews, anything that calls for tomato or marinara sauce. No more missing out on your favorite dishes. The recipes makes 5 cups that goes pretty quickly in my large household but can easily be halved if needed and freezes well too!
Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Syrup (gluten free, dairy free, paleo, soy free, vegan)
I guess you could say this is a short-cut version of a sweet potato mash. Kinda sorta. As much as I love making a big family-style casserole dish, I don’t enjoy the extra prep work of chopping, boiling, mashing – you get the idea. And if we took a minute to discuss the boiling part, I would say we then need to add sugar, fat and ‘cream’ to bring back the flavor we lost in the orange-tinged water left behind.
Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts (gluten free, dairy free, nut free, paleo, soy free, sulfite free, vegan)
Thanksgiving is almost here, are you as excited as I am? I bet you are! I’m going to keep it short and sweet since I have many recipes to share with you. Say hello to balsamic brussels sprouts. Oh how I love thee. 
I love, love the taste of balsamic, especially on brussels sprouts. Have you ever had brussels sprouts this way? Goodness gracious does it make this classic Thanksgiving veggie come alive … the tangy, the sweet, the sour pucker … then drizzled over perfectly roasted sprouts with just a touch of snap for texture. Just goodness. Please ignore my overuse of the word goodness – some habits are hard to break and this really is goodness I tell ya.
Shrimp Kimchi Fried Rice (gluten free, dairy free, soy free)
Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Persimmon, Jicama, and Coconut Chips
With Thanksgiving days away, I have been thinking about all the things I’m grateful for. Grateful for my family, friends, health, and you, my cyber friends for keeping my life colorful, constant and memorable – blessings I cherish. And, I don’t care how cheesy this sounds, but I want to say THANK YOU, my dear blog friends! YOU make this little hobby of mine so much fun! Seriously, something that started out as a way to journal new recipes on a new journey of food became more than I would have ever thought.
Brussels sprouts with glazed pancetta and pecans
Brussels sprouts, you either love ’em or hate ’em. I find it’s one of those vegetables where it’s a hit or miss. I personally love the little miniature cabbage looking things, but I get that they’re not for everyone. With a little holiday dress-up, even the “brussels sprouts haters of the world” won’t resist this.
Roasted Green Beans with Lemon Vinaigrette and Herbed Breadcrumbs
Thanksgiving has been on the brain!
I hope you don’t think I’m like some pesky neighbor knocking on your door a little too frequent with the more than usual posts. Hope you don’t mind because I have so many fall recipes to share with you! Here’s my twist on the classic green bean casserole for Thanksgiving.
Scallion Ginger Noodles (gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegan)
Growing up in New York on Saturday night my parents would usually get take-out. If it wasn’t pizza it was usually Chinese food. Living in a city as culturally diverse as New York didn’t matter, our house clung on to those take-out staples. My mom also clung on to loads of soy sauce packets and chopsticks (as if we would run out – love you Mom!) that would come with the food … no matter how much we ordered, the chopstick/food ratio was always off.